A group of newly-arrived migrants are allegedly behind a string of retail thefts and burglaries plaguing a city in the US state of Illinois that also saw an Indian-origin liquor store worker being threatened with a gun on his temple.
Claiming that the robbers may be part of a bigger crime ring, police said that in all, 47 migrants have been arrested since October in the village of Oak Brook, about 20 miles west of Chicago city, the 'New York Post' reported on Saturday.
"These retail crimes involving migrant offenders are part of a bigger criminal enterprise and we are working closely with our federal partners to thoroughly investigate these cases," Oak Brook Chief of Police, Brian Strockis, said.
Earlier this month, Pankajkumar Patel was left shaken after four armed men entered the shop in Wicker park, put a gun to his temple and punched his co-worker before fleeing away with cash and cell phones.
The robbers, carrying revolvers and semi-automatic handguns, hit three liquor stores in Chicago within a period of less than 40 minutes.
"Give me everything - don't move or I'll shoot," one of the robbers told Patel as he put the gun to his temple and fled with around $3,000 to $4,000 from the cash registers, including cell phones.
"I have two children and a wife," a shaken and terrified Patel had told told CBS News.
Prior to this, five liquor stores were targeted in a span of less than two hours in Irving Park, according to police.
According to a news release by DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin's office, Jaime Ubaldo Obando-Andrade, 32, allegedly tried on a $395 jacket at the department store on January 13 and walked out without paying for it.
Officers found approximately $3,000 worth of suspected stolen goods in Obando-Andrade's car, as well as rolls of tin foil and a fake driver’s license, police said, adding that shoplifters line bags with tinfoil to escape theft detection devices in stores.
Police believe members of an organised retail theft operation may have approached migrants in Chicago and offered to pay them to commit the thefts. "We do think it's part of something bigger," Strockis said.
According to The Post, Chicago, which has received around 34,000 migrants since 2022, does not cooperate with federal authorities investigating crimes by illegal immigrants, or allowing local law enforcement to inquire about a person's citizenship status.